St. John's University Athletics
Lade Finishes Fifth In MLS Rookie Of The Year Voting
11/19/2012 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Nov. 19, 2012
QUEENS, N.Y. - Former St. John's standout and New York Red Bulls rookie Connor Lade finished in fifth place in the MLS Rookie of the Year voting, as announced today by the league. Selected through voting by club management, players and media, the award was presented to Austin Berry of the Chicago Fire.
Lade helped the Red Bulls advance to the Eastern Conference Semifinals after finishing third in the regular season with a 16-9-9 mark. The rookie, who appeared in 26 games and made 22 starts in the regular season, ranked sixth on the team with 2,088 minutes played and also added three assists.
Signed by the Red Bulls in December as a Home Grown player, Lade earned a spot on the 18-man roster for the season-opener at Dallas (March 11). After making his MLS debut six games into the season with a 31-minute appearance as a substitute against San Jose (April 14), Lade earned his first-career start in the very next game at DC United (April 22). Lade then made his second-straight start and notched his first-career point with an assist in the following game against New England (April 28), just his third game as a professional. The rookie later notched two assists, his first-career multi-point game, in a win against Philadelphia (July 21).
A two-time NSCAA All-Region honoree and a two-time All-BIG EAST selection, Lade started 86 of a possible 87 games in his St. John's career and twice played every minute of a season. The Most Outstanding Defensive Player of the 2011 BIG EAST Tournament, the defender led St. John's to three NCAA Tournament appearances, a pair of BIG EAST Tournament titles, one NCAA College Cup and one BIG EAST regular season championship.
